In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $461 million compact with the Government of El Salvador to improve the lives of Salvadorans through strategic investments in education, public services, agricultural production, rural business development, and transportation infrastructure. The largest of the compact’s components, the transportation project, intends to physically unify El Salvador’s Northern Zone with the rest of the country, and to enable new economic opportunities for rural households, lower transportation costs, and decrease travel times to markets. The compact in El Salvador entered into force (EIF) in September 2007, initiating the five-year timeline for project implementation.

For the most up-to-date information on implementation progress, please read the Quarterly Status Report.

This project promotes increased physical and social infrastructure in the Northern Zone through both education and investment in vital community infrastructure. Communities are anticipated to benefit from targeted investment to provide the basic elements of water/sanitation and electrification, and local populations are anticipated to benefit from improved technical education and training activities and renovated regional technical/vocational institutions. Specifically, MCC funding aims to:

• Provide both formal and non-formal technical vocational education;
• Provide improved access to potable water systems and sanitation services;
• Increase electricity coverage in the Northern zone; and
• Construct and improves community infrastructure. 

This project aims to assist with the development of profitable and sustainable productive business ventures, with a primary focus on assisting poor farmers shift to the cultivation of high-value crops, forestry, and animal products.  Specifically, MCC funding aims to:

• Provide technical assistance to farmers and business development services;
• Support capital investment to selected applicants for commercial activities;
• Provide credit guarantees and technical assistance to financial institutions; and
• Provide crop insurance to small producers in the Northern Zone.